I was listening to Billboard's Top 100 for 1966 and heard "Walk Away Renee". I have been aware of the song since it came out, and have heard it for decades, but this afternoon, I realized how beautiful a song it really is. Rolling Stone has it at #220 of the all time greatest songs. The amazing part is it was written in 1964 by a 15-year-old Michael Brown and sung by 16-year-old Steve Martin Caro, both with the American band "Left Banke".
Unrequited love is often the most powerful force in the world for making defiant great performances, and this song is an example of that. Brown fell in love with Renee Fladden Kamm, girlfriend of a band member and wrote the band’s top two songs to her from afar. When Walk Away Renee was recorded in early 1966, Fladden-Kamm was in the studio, and Brown said he was unable to play his guitar because he was so overtaken by her presence, and had to return later to perform his part.
"Left Banke" makes use of strings, harpsichords, and flutes which was unusual at the time. The gem lasts a mere 1:55.
Unrequited love is often the most powerful force in the world for making defiant great performances, and this song is an example of that. Brown fell in love with Renee Fladden Kamm, girlfriend of a band member and wrote the band’s top two songs to her from afar. When Walk Away Renee was recorded in early 1966, Fladden-Kamm was in the studio, and Brown said he was unable to play his guitar because he was so overtaken by her presence, and had to return later to perform his part.
"Left Banke" makes use of strings, harpsichords, and flutes which was unusual at the time. The gem lasts a mere 1:55.
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